Saturday, June 25, 2011

Blue Collar life.

recently ive been reading up on mike rowe. he is on a PR push to bring back the respect of a blue collar job. he basically says that america has alienated the blue collar laborer and forgotten all about where we came from. we have become a nation that celebrates shortcuts and shortcomings. my parents always taught me that hard work pays off and the quick easy money, goes away just as quick and easy. both of my parents came to the US with little to no money, and a duffel bag with clothes. they arrived on US soil with my older brother and mom was pregnant with me. and here we are, business owner, homeowner and successful. sure we arent stupid rich, but we are comfortable and able to maintain our lives during this time of financial uncertainty.

mike rowe celebrates the fact that people like my parents are out there willing to do the jobs that most look down on. and i salute him for that. he recently testified in front of the US Senate on this issue. issue being the lack of labor in this country. he urges them to back his stand on hard work and skilled labor. there are 200,000 jobs available for manufacturing in the US and they arent filled. there is a high unemployment rate, yet a labor shortage at the same time. why? because people dont wanna do hard work anymore. they would rather push it off to the next guy. there is no respect for people that are not afraid of hard work. we are painted as slovenly, dirty creatures. the roads we drive on, the food we eat, the energy that powers our homes? there are people out there working away to keep our country going. and like he says, the skill gap is growing and we need to close it. there is an illusion that a 4 year degree guarantees some kind of success. i learned a long time ago that it doesnt. there are very few people that i know, with college degrees that actually work in the field that they went to school for. everyone else has some mediocre job that they barely get paid for and has nothing to do with their degree.

i love the united states. i just dont love what the people are doing to it. this campaign hits close to home for me. and i will do nothing but support it and spread the word where i can. follow the link below to a short video mike did outlining what he testified to the US Senate.

A problem with the general American public is everything is given to them. Resources are abundant so people tend to be lazy with everything. A person on poverty living in the ghetto can afford an Escalade and eat. The problem is Americans feel that as long as they can purchase or afford the goods that make them feel happy they are contempt with their lives. This country has a huge wealth gap with the richest person and the poorest. Look at the people living in million dollar homes as opposed the homeless guy going from shelter to shelter. It's no different from serfs to royal families. Times have changed and its become extremely difficult for immigrants to move to America and become wealthy tycoons such as when the Industrial Revolution occuried. Now its difficult to aquire power because of nepotite corporations squeezing out the mom and pop businesses. American people expect domestic labor to be for people of color and its sad. Americans laugh at stereotyping jobs for minorities but the reality is that people of your heritage are helping you out to get that job so you as a group end up sticking together doing that job to rise up. Do they honestly know the grind and life immigrants have?

As the late great George Carlin said "The American dream doesn't exist you have to be asleep to belive that shit."

When I first read this, it was refreshing and awesome to see someone else who respects the old American way of 'doing things'. Then I was disappointed to realize it's so rare to find someone who upholds those beliefs that this realization should be refreshing. I think I've become one of the worst hypocrites of all:I write lots of code that allows people to be very lazy and prevents everyone from having to work with their hands ... then I take the money I make from that to be able to work with my hands. I write lazy code so I can diligently weld in my garage into the wee hours of the morning. If that isn't a sign that we have serious issues in this Country, I don't know what is.